Leveraging Strategic Technologies

Understanding Africa’s Emerging Cyber Threats

Rapid advances in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, drones, space systems, and other new technologies are reshaping Africa’s geopolitical landscape. Terrorist groups, external actors, and organized criminal networks across the continent are leveraging emerging technology at unprecedented speed and scale. To meet their most critical security challenges, Africa’s defense and security forces must incorporate, employ, use, adapt, and build 21^st century defense technologies. However, African security forces face significant obstacles in acquiring cost-effective technology solutions, developing technical expertise, and reforming their defense sectors at the scale needed to keep pace with their adversaries.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ Strategic Technologies Program provides practical knowledge, skills, and guidance to enable African defense and security forces to leverage strategic technologies to address critical security challenges. Through interactive webinars, bilateral engagements, focused regional workshops, toolkits, and educational curricula, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies informs and prepares security practitioners to confront the disruptive consequences of technological change. Specifically, the Strategic Technologies Program’s objectives are to:

Enhance awareness of how emerging technologies are transforming Africa’s security landscape.
Support and educate African defense and security leaders in applying strategic technologies to advance national security priorities.
Facilitate the identification and adoption of technology solutions that are cost-effective and specific to a country’s capabilities, needs, and threat environment.

Leveraging Defense Technologies to Fight Terrorism in Africa
Webinar Series, December 2025 –

Artificial Intelligence for Africa’s Defense Forces
Toolkit Launch, February 27, 2026

Artificial Intelligence Strategy in the Security Domain Development Seminar
Webinar Series, February–April, 2025

The Space Domain and Africa’s Security Landscape
Webinar, October 31, 2024

Advancing Regional Cybersecurity and Stability in Africa
Expert Roundtable, May 2024

Artificial Intelligence and Africa’s Security Landscape
Webinar, September 2023

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the African Security Landscape
Webinar, August 2022

Cyberspace and Security Sector Governance in Africa
Hybrid Roundtable, May 2022

Cyberspace Security Priorities for Africa’s National Security Actors
Virtual Academic Program, August 2021